Boiler cleaner



April 13, 1937. F. w. LINAKER 2,076,737

BOILER CLEANER Filed Nov. 28., 19.54 4 sheets-sheet 1 [NVE/WOR; FREDERIC/f W. L/NAHER Patented Apr. 13, i937 UNITED STATES PATENT CFFICE 4 Ulaims.

My invention has relation to improvements in boiler cleaners and it consists in the novel features of construction more fully set forth in the specification and pointed out in the claims.

The invention is primarily directed to an operating head for actuating the blower tube of a boiler cleaner, and it has for its principal object the control of the steam valve and the rotation of the blower tube with a single actuating mechanism. lo It is also the object of this invention to provide an operating head and valve independent thereoi, both head and valve, however, being operated by a common actuating mechanism. lIt is a further object of the invention to so ar- 1'5 range the valve operating parts and blower tube operating parts that the valve and blower tube may be independently operated if desired, or after having first opened the vvalve the blower tube may be continuously operated for any desired period while the valve remains open. It o is also possible in my improved boiler cleaner to close the valve at any time irrespective of the position of the blower tube in the rotation arc.

Thus, there is no denite timed relation between the operation of the blower tube and the operation of the valve, the actuation of these parts being under the control of the operator. The advantage of this selective operation is to make the boiler cleaner universal in its application to boiler cleaners, in that the same apparatus may be used without modification of parts in the various localities in the boiler irrespective of the blowing arc required in each locality.

These advantages, as well as others inherent in the invention, will be better apparent from a detailed description of the same in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure l is a front view of my improved boiler cleaner; Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof showing 0 a fragment of the boiler wall on which the operating head is mounted; Fig. 3 is a vertical, middle, longitudinal section taken on the line 3--3 of Fig. l; Fig. 4 is a vertical cross-section taken on the line 4 4 of Fig. 2; Fig. 4a, is a horizontal sectional detail taken on the line a-da of Fig. 2; Fig. 5 -is a vertical cross-sectional detail taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 2; Fig. 6 is a section similar to that shown in Fig. 5 except that Fig. 6 shows the valve actuating mechanism in the position after having actuated the valve; Fig. '7 is a vertical sectional detail through the clutch between the operating sheave and the drive pinion for rotating the blower pipe; Fig. 8 is a section similar tothat shown in Fig. 7 except that the clutch elements are in engagement for rotating the blower pipe; Fig. 8a is a vertical sectional detail taken on the line 8er-8a of Fig. 2; Figs. 9 and 10 are a front elevation and side elevation corresponding to Figs. 1 and 2, respectively, but showing a modied form of the invention; Fig. 11 is a verti- 5 cal, longitudinal section taken on the line Il-H of Fig. 9; Fig. l2 is a cross-sectional detail taken on the line ill-l2 of Fig. 10; Fig. 13 is a cross-sectional detail taken on the line I3-I3 of Fig. 10; Fig. 14 is a view corresponding with that shown 10 in Fig. 12 except that the valve operating mechanism is shown in the position for holding the f valve in open position; Fig. 15 is a view corresponding with that shown in Fig. 13 except that the clutch between the operating sheave and 15 drive pinion for the blower tube is shown in engagement; Fig. 16 is a view similar to that shown in Fig. 12 except that the valve operating mechanism is shown in its position just after closing y the valve; and Fig. 17 is a cross-sectional detail taken on the une n n of Fig. 1o. 20

Referring to the drawings, A represents the operating head of my improved boiler cleaner shown supported from the wall W of the boiler, the tubes of which are to be cleaned. In addition to the operating head, the boiler cleaner coinprises a valve casing I6 and a blower tube vl passing through an opening 0' in the boiler wall, in which opening is Xed a wall sleeve 2 having a ange 3 to which is secured a plate 4 termed the wall sleeve cap. The wall sleeve cap (in the present instance) is provided with a bracket 5 which carries the operating head A through an adjustable plate 6, coiled spring 1 and saddle member 8. The saddle member 8 has a centrally disposed boss S from which projects a stud l0 on which is adjustably positioned a Washer Il by means of a nut I2. The stud Il) passes through thecoiled spring l and suitable openings I3 and I4 in the plate 6 and bracket 5, respectively, so that the 40 weight on the operating head is resiliently supported by the spring 1. However, the parts just described, including the resilient support for the operating head, are old in the art and will not be further alluded to. 1 45 The blower tube l is rotatably supported from the boiler tubes (not shown) in any manner now in common use in the boiler cleaning art.

The operating head A and its association with the valve casing I6, together with the actuating 50 mechanism for the blower tube I, form the sub,-` ject-matter of the present invention. The head A includes a supporting bracket l5 Yfor the valve casing IE and valve I1 therein, and the actuating ,p mechanism mounted on the valve casing. 55

The actuating mechanism for the boiler cleaner is non-rotatory with the exception of the gear I8 for rotating the blower tube I. Said gear is fixed to a disk I9 formed integral with bracket I5. The bracket I5 is also provided with a ring 20 in spaced relation with the disk I9, on the periphery of which is a channel 2| for receiving the supporting saddle 8. The valve casing I6 has a steam outlet branch I6 provided with a 10 threaded opening 2 2 in which is screwed one end of a tubular member 23, the other end of said member passing through the ring 20 and having a conical flange 24 formed on it. Between the conical flange 24 and the ring 26 is abearing element 25 held tightlyY in place by a coupling member 26, in the threaded opening 21 of which is screwed the threaded end 28 of the blower Y tube I. The coupling member 26 is bolted to the ring Y2li by a plurality of bolts 29. Thus the bearing element 25 is frictionally held between the bracket I5 and the coupling 26 so that itwill rotate with these elements while the tube 23 will remain stationary. In order to make the joint between 'these movablek and stationary parts `25 steam-tight, suitable packing material 3D is packed in the space behind the bearing element 25 and held in place by means of a gland 3| carried by the bracket I5, and maintained in close contact with the packing by means of springs 30 32 disposed over studs 33 and conned between the gland 3| and a washer 34 held in place by the nuts 35, 36.

The heads 33 of the studs v33 are disposed in sockets s in the disk I9 to prevent the studs from r35 turning, and in order that the pressure of the springs 32 may be directly against the valve lcasing I6 there are openings o, ol through the disk I9 at the bottom of the. sockets s in which are in- Y serted short pins or plugs p, 22. The outer ends Li0 of studs 33 fit loosely in openings r, r in flange 3| of the gland 3I so that the gland is free to move against the packing 30 under the pressure of the springs 32, 32. The operating mechanism for the valve I1 and blower tube I will now be described;

.The valve casing I6 has a valve cage 31 Screwthreaded into a threaded annular shoulder 38 formed in the casing, and the valve I1 operates' within said cage within which is formed a bevel Valve seat 39. 'I o permit the assembly of the partsthe upper threaded part 38 of the cage 31 i's formed separately from the lower part vof said cage and the'two parts are secured together in any'desiredmanner. Ribs 317 on the inner wall f of the casing I6 hold the'cage 31in alinement.

`A pilot va1ve'40 traverses an opening 4I in the bottomY 42 of cage 31 and is provided with a conical shoulder 43adapted to rest on a correspondingly shaped valve seat 44 when the pilot Valve is c1osed., Stem 45 extends upwardly from the pilot valve 40 through a stuffing box 46 ini valve casing I6 and a perforated flange 41 which serves as a guide for said stem 45. The pilot valve 40 has a port 40 extending from its lower end 'axially and laterally to open finto chamber M within the valve cage 31. Thus when the pilot valve is closed the chamber M willzbe in communication with the steam supply pipe P and there will be steam pressure within said chamber and against the main valve disk I1. The

`size of the port 49 is such that when the pilot valve is opened pressure against the valve disk I1 will be relieved so that the valve I1 may be more easily operated.

v.Between the valve housing portion of the casing I6 and the outlet branch I6 is a steam chamber 48 leading to the tubular member 23, from which the steam passes into the Vblower tube I. A bearing bracket 49 projects upwardly from the branch I6' of Valve casing I6, said bracket having an outwardly projecting boss 50, through which and the bracket is a bore 5I having a countersunk portion, 52 at one end. In the bore 5I immediately adjacent the countersunk yportion 52 is a bearingbushing 53, and projecting outwardly from said bore, opposite to the countersunk portion, is a tubular member 54 having an offset portion 54 in which is secured a bearing bushing 55. Thus, the bearing bushings 53 kand 55 are in spaced relation and having a shaft 56 mounted within them.v The inner end of the shaft carries a pinion 51 partly disposed within the countersunk portion 52 of bore 5I, and the outer end of said shaft has an operating sheave 58 loosely mounted on it and heldin place by a washer 59 and nut 60 screwed over the threaded extremity 6I of said shaft 56.

The hub 62 of the operating sheave 58 has a clutch element 63 formed on its inner surface for engagement with a clutch element 64 on the collar 65 keyed tothe shaft 56 Vand disposed between saidhub 62 and the adjacent end of the tubular member 54. A cam 66 is rotatably mounted on the tubularrmember 54 and has its cam formation V61 disposed over the valve stem 45, between which and the camelement is a lever 68 pivotally mounted to an ear 69 projecting upwardly from the branch I64 of the valve casing I6. From what has just been described it is apparent that the cam 66 is rotatable independently of the shaft 56, but the shaft 56 of course must be rotated in orderto operate the pinion 51 and the ring gear I8 with which said meshes. The Amechanism for actuating the cam 66 is disposed above said cam and carried on a pin 10 projecting outwardly from the upper part of bearing bracket 49 into which said stem is screw-threaded. This mechanism comprises a forked lever 1I having arms 12 and 13 in spaced relation and provided with openings 14, "I5, respectively, for

receiving the pin 10. mounted on said pin 10 and has an upwardly projecting arm 16 in line with a lug 11 projecting inwardly from sheave 58.` A segmental pinion 18 is loosely mounted on pin 10 between the arms 12 and 13 of lever 1I, and on the adjacent sides of the pinion 18 and arm 12 clutch elements 19 and 80, respectively, are formed. There are also a series of rteeth 8I formed on the cam 66 so that when the pinion 18 is rotated the cam will likewise be rotated.

By referring to Fig. 5 it will be seen that there is 45 of lost motion between clutch elements 19 and 89,'andby referring to Fig. 7 it will be seen 'Ihe lever 1I is looselyV that there is of lost motion between clutch elements 63 and 64' through which the blower tube I is operated. 'I'he reason for this will be apparent in the description of the operation.

ofthe invention.

The lever 1I has a lug 82 projecting outwardly j from theside opposite to therarm 16, which lug operates between a pair of confining n'gers 83,?

84 loosely mounted on pin 16 and maintained in spaced relation by a spring 85, the ends of lwhich are fastened one to each ofsaid fingers andthe coil of which passes around the boss 50 of bearing bracket 49.

Figure 5 shows the relative position of the operating parts when the boiler cleaner isidle,`

although lug 'l1 is shown inl engagement with arm 16 of lever 1|. If the sheave 58 is now rotated in the direction of the arrowl (Fig. 5) it will carry the lever 1| around with it, first taking up the 45 of lost motion between clutch elements 19 and 80, after which the pinion 18 will be rotated, in turn rotating cam 66 by virtue of the engagement of the pinion 18 with the teeth 8| of said cam and cause the cam formation 61 todepress the lever 68 and, of course, stem 45 of pilot valve @0. As soon as the pilot valve has been opened to admit steam behind the main valve |1 this valve will also be unseated, causing the steam to ow freely through valve casing I6 into chamber 48 to the blower tube When the lug 11 has traveled to the position shown in Fig. 6 it will release the lever 1|, which in the meantime has rocked finger 84 so as to impose the tension of spring 85 thereon, and immediately the lever 16 is released it will vbe thrown upwardly by the spring tension on the finger 84. However, this backward movement of the lever 16 will not eiiect the valves as it does not exceed the amount of the lost motion between the clutch elements 19 and 80. The main steam valve thus remains open and a continued rotation of the sheave 53 will rotate shaft 56 and pinion 51 as the lost motion between clutch elements 63 and 94 will by this time have been taken up, as shown in Figs. 7 and 8. The blower tube may now be rotated in the direction of the arrow (Fig. 5) as long as desired without eecting the operation of the valve. After the blower tube has been rotated through a suicient arc to clean the soot from the boiler tubes the sheave 58 is operated in the reverse direction so that when the lug 11 again encounters the lever arm 16 it will swing said lever back to the position shown in Fig. 5, causing the pinion 18 to rotate the cam 66 to release the lever E8 and valve stem 45 allowing both the pilot and the main valves to close.

In Figs. 9 to 17, inclusive, I show a modification of the invention wherein I employ a somewhat dilerent form of actuating mechanism for the valve and blower element. The manner of supporting the blower tube in the construction of the valve and casing therefor is the same as in the main form. The bearing bracket 49 projecting upwardly from valve casing I9 has a tubular bearing projecting outwardly from it in which shaft 9| is rotatably mounted and on which is freely rotatable a cam lever 92 and sheave wheel 93. Between the sheave wheel 93 and cam lever 92 is a member 94 fixed on the bearing 90 and having an upwardly presented arcuate edge 95. A clutch member 90 having an inner clutch element 91 is fixed on the outer end of shaft 9| and the clutch element 91 is adapted to engage with the clutch element 98 on the adjacent edge of hub 99 of the sheave wheel 93. A cradle |00 is carried on the end of a stud |0| carried in the end of cam lever 92 rotatably mounted on the tubular bearing 90, said cradle having a medially disposed outwardly projecting lug |02 projecting from one side, and a second lug |03 projecting from the opposite side thereof. rIhe ends of the cradle carry pins |04, |04 on which are rotatably mounted rollers |05, |05. A spring |06 is coiled around hub 99' of cam lever 92 and has a pair of arms |01, |01 straddling the stud |0| and bearing on opposite sides of lug |02. The rollers |05, |05 project in the path of the arcuate surface so that they may ride over this surface in the operation of the blower, aswill appear hereinafter. The cam lever 92 has an outwardly projecting lug 92? for the purpose of. engaging the end of lever |08 disposedbetween the cam 92 and the valve stem 45.

`Lug 93 projects outwardly from sheave wheel 93 in the path of lug |03 of cradle |00 and engages the' lug |03 as the sheave 93 is rotated, as shown in Fig.. l2. With a continuationioflthe rotation counter-clockwiseof sheave 93 the leading roller |05 will ride on the arcuate surface 95 as the camr92 is rotated to cause the cam surface 92 to depress the lever |08 and valve stem 45. When the main valve is fully operi the "lug 92- of the cam will engage the en'doflever |08 limiting any further movement of thecam lever 92. However, a continuation of the'rotation of sheave 93 will tilt the cradle |00 downwardly in the position shown in Fig. 14, allowing the lug 93 to pass the lug |03, after which the force of the spring arms |01 will restore the cradle toits balanced position. Thefvalve now is in its full open position anda continuation of the rotation of sheave 93 will rotate the blower tube by virtue of the clutch element 98 of the sheave 93 impinging on the clutch element 91 secured to shaft 9|.. The blower tube may now be rotated through any desired arc without in any wise disturbing the valve. However, when the blowing operation is completed and the operator desires to again close the steam valve he will rotate the sheave 93 in the reverse direction which causes the lug 93 to again impinge on the lug |03 and carry the cradle in the opposite direction as it was carried before. This opposite movement of the cradle will of course oscillate the cam lever 92 so as to release the lever |01 and allow the valve stem 45 to rise as the valve |1 is seated.

In both the main form of the invention (Figs. 1 to 8a., inc.) and the modification (Figs. 9 to 17, inc.) I have separated the operating head for the blower tube from the valve mechanism. Therefore, I can use any design of valve mechanism with the head that I may desire. I can also completely replace one valve mechanism with another without disturbing the head or the blower tube.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. A boiler cleaner comp-rising a revolvable blower tube, a valve casing communicating with the blower tube, a revolvable support for` said casing, a valve in said casing and actuating mechanism carried by the valve casing, said mechanism comprising means for revolving said support including an operating sheave and a clutch between the sheave and the support, and means for operating the valve including a cam, a cam actuating lever, and a clutch between said lever and cam, a driving lug on the operating sheave for oscillating said lever when the sheave is. rotated, spring means for maintaining said lever in the path of said lug when not engaged thereby, said clutch between the operating sheave and support having lost motion to cause the actuation of the blower tube to lag behind the actuation of the valve.

2. A boiler cleaner comprising a revolvable b-lower tube, an operating head including a revolvable support connected to the blower tube, a valve casing in communication with the blower tube, a valve in said casing and actuating mechanism carried by the valve casing, said mechanism comprising an operating sheave, means for revolving said support including clutch elements between said support and sheave, an oscillating lever eil'ectlve on the valve to actuate the same, clutch elements between the valve and oscillating lever, a driving lug on the sheave for en- 5 gaging the oscillating lever, spring means for holding said lever in the path of said lug, said clutch elements between the valve and lever having sufiicient lost motion to permit the operation of said spring means, and the clutch ele- 10 ments between the support and sheave having suflicient lost motion to delay the actuation of the blowertube until the valve has been opened. -3. A boiler cleaner comprising a revolvable blower tube, an operating head including v a 15 revolvable support connected to the blower tube,

avalve casing in communication with the blower tube, a valve in said casing and actuating mechanism carried by the valve casing, said mechanism comprising an operating sheave, means 20 for revolving said support including clutch elements between said support and sheave, an oscillating lever effective on the valve to actuate the same, a driving lug on said sheave for engaging the oscillating lever, means for releasing said lug therefrom, and means for restoring the lever lost motion to delay the actuation .of the blower tube until the valve has been opened.

4. A boiler cleaner comprising a revolvable blower tube, a cleaning uid supply pipe, a valve in communication with the fluid supply pipe, a head mounted on the blower tube, said head including a member to revolve with the blower tube, a stationary'tube in `said head, said head and stationary tubeV having `swivel connection, means'to support the outer end of the blower tube from said revolvable member, means to` connect the stationary tube to thevalve, and operating means adapted to rst .open said valve,

to admit a supply of cleaning iluid to the blower tube while the latterlis stationary and afterwards to revolve the blower tube in one direction, said means on reversal adapted to close the valve while the blower tube is stationary.

FREDERICK W. LINAKER. 

